diving the Keys?

[Chris Brown Tech]

My wife and I are considering a trip there this summer. we've never been. where should we stay? who should we dive with? what other activities are there?
We like diving wrecks?

well then! Come dive with us. Were wreckaholics We do them practically every day. Usually the Spiegel, then the Duane & Bibb. When we do 'reefs' its Mikes, City of washington or the Benwood.

We do 'double dips' (2 on the wreck, not one and then a reef) have banked nitrox, big steels, et, etc. Uncrowded small boat etc, etc,

I can get good rates at the Pelican motel, Key West Inn (no - its not in Key West) and The Bayside Inn.

Other activities? - er........ummmm......Drinking, Fishing and eating. In that order of importance to the locals. Take a day to head to Key West or Miami.

 

[j yaeger]

"Other activities? - er........ummmm......Drinking, Fishing and eating. In that order of importance to the locals"

AMEN!!!!!

 

[macjeffff]

I want to second the comment by Busdiver on Sail Fish Scuba. In my book, they are the ideal dive shop / dive charter operation. Small, friendly and experienced. Like diving with friends.

 

[mjsylver]

I will miss Jeff at Minnow also. We did some diving with him last summer while working on a mini-documentary. Chris and the folks at Silent World are great. I'm always comfortable bringing my students and high school SCUBA club out with his crews.

 

[Rescue Diver68]

I have been going to the Key twice a year for a while and I love diving with Conch Republic Divers out of Tavernier Creek Marina. They visit some reef further south than the dive ops in norther Key Largo and the wreck of the Eagle. Sombrero and Alligator Reef are some of those examples. Nice stuff and you wont find nicer folks in the Keys than Gary and Brenda who own the dive center.
As far as accommodations, I usually rent a house using VRBO® is Vacation Rentals By Owner

 

[Bratface]

You are getting lots of good information but be sure not to miss the History of Diving Museum in Islamorada and the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

 

[billt4sf]

I want to second the comment by Busdiver on Sail Fish Scuba. In my book, they are the ideal dive shop / dive charter operation. Small, friendly and experienced. Like diving with friends.

They sound great but I guess their pricing reflects what they do -- $100 pppd, as opposed to $75 pppd from other companies, from what I can see.

---------- Post added May 5th, 2013 at 12:15 PM ----------

well then! Come dive with us. Were wreckaholics We do them practically every day. Usually the Spiegel, then the Duane & Bibb. When we do 'reefs' its Mikes, City of washington or the Benwood. .

Chris, are your dive trips suitable for my wife and I? We have about 50 dives each, but we are very conservative in what we like to do -- no deeper than 75 feet is what we are currently comfortable with, we have done drift dives but only with a DM (don't know how to launch an SMB at depth), not too good at navigating -- we're OK for out and back if there's no current. Do your rates include a DM on the dives? Would other divers on your boats be comfortable with our skill level ? We have just stared using a Hogartian setup but we are not tech divers.

 

[MrMrEZG]

Sorry for the delay, we've gone and returned. We had a blast. A close friend recommended we dive with sea dwellers, and we did. I was some what leery of their boat being as big as it is. I figured there would be 20+ divers on board. We had one trip that was almost full but the other four were just fine. We rarely saw the other divers in the water. I would definitely dive with Scott again.